Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.

The simple joys of Godly industry

We are not to regard these words as at all akin to the utterance of the baser Epieureanism, “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die!” We are not to suppose that the Jewish philosopher, looking around him, and finding all to be “vanity and feeding on wind,” concludes that the best thing a man can do, under the circumstances, is to give himself up to a life of sensuous enjoyment. This cannot possibly be his meaning here; for he has already shown the emptiness of a life of sensuous gratification, and he has also recorded it as his conviction that “wisdom is better than folly.” Moreover, the words themselves do not point to mere idle self-indulgence; for they speak of a man’s “enjoying good in his labour.” Ecclesiastes seems to have before his mind a life in which hearty and honest toil is blended with a contented enjoyment of the fruits of toil. In the maxim, “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die,” eating and drinking stand for all kinds of sensuous gratification, and even of sensual excess. But here, to “eat and drink” seems to stand rather for the simpler forms of living, as contrasted with luxurious and excessive self-indulgence. That this is the meaning of Ecclesiastes here is further evident from the manner in which he goes on to speak of the conditions of this contented and cheerful enjoyment of life. “This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.” This introduction of the thought of God is itself sufficient to show that Ecclesiastes is not here speaking as a sensualist, or as a mere pleasure-seeker. Amidst the many anomalies of life, Ecclesiastes clings to the assurance that there is a moral government of God in this world. There are indeed perplexing problems in relation to this moral government, which he felt he could not solve, and which led him to look forward to a world beyond death where the dealings of God with men would be completed and vindicated. But still, looking at the broad facts of human life, and excluding cases apparently exceptional and perplexing, he saw that God does make a distinction, even here and now, between the “sinner” and the “man who pleaseth Him.” The virtuous and godly man has an advantage, even in this world, over the wicked. He receives from God a “wisdom and knowledge” which are associated with “joy.” He finds a pleasure in his work, and is contented to eat the simple fruits of his toil. He may be a poor man, labouring for daily bread; and yet he may receive from God this gift of thankful enjoyment. Whereas, on the other hand, Ecclesiastes saw that the “sinner”--the man who has no thought of God’s commandments--may “gather together” and “heap up” riches, and yet have no heart to enjoy his own wealth. Now, the lesson which Ecclesiastes here sets before us is one of which we all need to be continually reminded. Patent as the fact may be to us that the higher happiness of life is far more closely associated with unanxious labour, simple habits, and cheerful contentment, than with wealth or luxury, we are all more or less apt to live in forgetfulness of it. The social atmosphere which we breathe is too feverish and restless. We are apt to lose the blessings of to-day through over-anxiety about the morrow. We are apt to miss the enjoyment which God has put for us into the simple, common blessings of life, through our eager pursuit of something more which may not really be anything better. It might be a desirable thing for some men who are spoiling their lives through selfish ambition or sordid Mammonism, to sit for a little while even at the feet of Epicurus! But far better for all of us to sit at the feet of Christ. All that was really true and valuable in the higher Epieureanism is to be found, in a more exalted form, in Christianity. It does not bid us proudly trample on either pleasure or pain; but it bids us cultivate an inner peace and strength which shall prevent us from becoming the mere victims and slaves of circumstance. Without despising any “creature of God,” it nevertheless teaches us to estimate things according to their relative importance. And if only our hearts were set more steadfastly on higher things, if only we were more bent on “pleasing God,” we would be the better able to “eat and drink and enjoy good in our labour”--to enjoy with a more serene and contented spirit the simple, ordinary blessings which are common to humanity. (T. C. Finlaysen.)